Every Finish Line
by Moon-Fox13
Summary: After a fight with the Committee, Speed Sr. is badly injured and sent to the hospital. He knows he is going to die so he has to say a heart-felt goodbye to his brother and son.


**Every Finish Line**

**A/N: This has been in my mind for a while now and I finally decided to write it but I must clear some things up first so please read all of this. This is a tragedy, be warned, it takes place in a hospital where Speed, Sr. has been badly injured while fighting the Shadow Committee (this hospital scene just randomly popped in my head one day so it is just about what Speed, Sr. says to Speed, Jr. and Spritle so the fight scene is kind of irrelevant.) Let's just say that when the gang finds the Committee headquarters that a very pissed off X attacks Speed, Sr. and he gets injured very badly by the goons that work for the shadow lady so Speed, Sr. is sent to the hospital and is in intensive care.**

**Warning: Character death, and a lot of references to the original Speed Racer.**

**I am really not expecting to get a lot of reviews on this but please leave one.**

**This is my first fic so be nice. And this will be a one-shot, but maybe a two-shot.**

_Disclaimer: I own nothing._

Speed, Jr.'s POV

It is so quiet. It's never quiet anywhere I go especially with my friends Connor and Lucy, who sat to my right on the bench across the hallway to where my dad's hospital room was. Even Chim-Chim was quiet. I know robots aren't supposed to have emotions but he seemed really sad, we all did. Uncle Spritle and Damian were sitting on the bench across the hall next to my dad's room so they were closer. I had never seen Spritle look so sad and Damian looked as if he was screaming at himself on the inside for not coming to my dad's rescue in time.

Suddenly the silence was slaughtered by the sound of dad's room's door opining. The door screeched across the uneven floor that sounded to me like the Grim Reaper dragging his scythe on the floor, ready to take my father away. But instead of Death walking out, it was a doctor and two nurses.

"He has requested to see his brother and son." The doctor stated blankly. Then he and the nurses walked away.

Spritle and I gave a quick glance to each other then stood up. Spritle was closest to the door so he went in first while I reluctantly followed. I was eager to see my dad but I wasn't ready to see him all broken like he was. The door closed behind me making that awful sound that made me cringe.

But that sound didn't disturb me as much as the sight before me. My father lay in the hospital bed with an IV in his arm, an oxygen line over his nose, and blood stained bandages around his forehead and arms. The room was quiet except for the slow but steady repetitive sound of the heart rate monitor.

Spritle's POV

My breath hitched in my throat as I looked at my beloved older brother lying in that bed seemingly unconscious. He looked so fragile. Through my child hood, we had gone on all kinds of adventures together with Sparky, Trixie, and Racer X. We had been shot at, kidnapped, almost drowned, nearly set on fire, fought gangsters and crime bosses, chained up, beat up, gotten in trouble with the police, and once we even had to fight off a group of panthers…not to mention all the sabotaged races he was in… and never have any of us gotten hurt nearly this bad. Sure we had gotten injured several times and ended up in the hospital but never in critical condition. I can't believe X had this done to his own father. This was just too much.

I was about to look away from his badly bruised face when his eyes started to slowly flutter open. His eyes were squinting and I knew the lights were hurting them. Speed's pained blue eyes stared at me for a few long seconds then shifted to Speed by my left.

"Speed! You're awake, how are you feeling?" I asked while grabbing his left hand.

"Dad! Dad, are you alright?" Speed asked slightly panicky. But my brother said nothing and just continued to slowly look back and forth between me and Speed as if he didn't fully register what was going on.

Speed, Sr.'s POV

I hear a door open and close and two pairs of footsteps walk towards me but they sound miles away. It's probably Speed and Spritle since I had asked the doctor to send them in. I want to talk to them one last time before I….

I try to open my eyes to see my beloved son and brother but all that greets my sight is a blinding light that feels like daggers being shoved into my eye sockets. Oh, what a pleasant thought… Why do hospitals have to be so damn bright?

My eyes adjust to the light and I look at my brother who looks at me with concerned eyes. Then I shift my gaze to Speed whose eyes are equally concerned and slightly red. He must have been crying.

"Speed! You're awake, how are you feeling?" one of them says but I'm too out of it to tell who. Something grabs my left hand.

"Dad! Dad, are you alright?" Dad? That one has to be Speed so the first one who spoke must have been Spritle.

"Huh…. H-Hey there… l-little br-brother, is that y-you Sp-Speed?" I asked weakly. Man, I'm only holding on by a thread.

"Yeah it's me dad but don't try to talk. Save your energy." My son says. I reach out my right arm and grab his hand that was lying on the bed. My brother in my left hand and my son in my right. I continue to look back and forth between the two of them then something dawns on me.

"Where is X?" I ask whispering. They both advert their eyes from me. "What's wrong, X isn't still with the Committee is he?" I asked getting agitated.

"Speed calm down, don't get upset." Spritle said trying to calm me.

Then I remember what happened back at the Committee headquarters. X was the one who ordered those goons to attack me. Being an experienced fighter, I was able to knock them out but I did sustain some injuries. I ran after X and then he started trying to fight me. He looked so angry then he started saying such awful things about me not really caring about our family and how I'm misleading Speed into trusting me and how I've been trying to manipulate him and his friends into believing that I'm right about the Committee being evil. Then X started attacking me…. I shudder at the memory, it was just so awful. I didn't fight back because he was my son and I didn't want to hurt him and a part of me believed that he wouldn't really hurt me. Boy was I wrong….X had called the other Committee members, Pinky Ring, Van Manacle, that British guy (I forgot his name), and Mustache to beat me up' and they did a number. It was too much for me to handle in my old state. By the time Damian found me, it was almost too late. I knew I was going to die but I held on this long because there were some things that I just had to say to Speed and Spritle.

"There's s-something that…. I n-need to talk to…you two about…" I saying, gathering up my strength.

"No Speed, you need to save your energy." Spritle says.

"D-don't talk back… to your big brother okay." I say giving a small smile. He nods.

"What do you want to talk to us about, dad?" Speed asks.

"I want to tell you two that I love you and that I appreciate you both." I say quietly.

"We love you too, dad."

"Speed, I feel like I've been a really crappy father to you and X-

"No dad! You've been a great father, and you'll continue being a great father." Speed said trying to convince himself more than anyone that I'm not going to die.

"Speed, son, I'm sorry but I'm not going to live much lon-

"No, don't say that!" he practically yells. "You are going to live-

"Speed calm down, okay. Just relax and let me finish. There's something really important that I need to tell you." I say soothingly trying to calm him. He gets quiet and lets me speak.

"I'm sorry for leaving you all those years ago. Speed, I'm sorry you had to grow up without parents, I failed as a father. Spritle, I'm sorry I abandoned you the same way Rex abandoned me; I tried to be the great big brother to you that Rex was to me, but I guess I failed at that too."

"No Speed, you were a wonderful brother. We had a lot of great times together." Spritle said getting teary eyed.

"Yeah, we did have some good times, didn't we?" I said smiling at the memories. "Remember when I taught you how to spell your name? Or when I taught you how to drive, and you did way better than me the first time I ever drove a car… And every Christmas you'd come in my room at 1 o'clock in the morning wide awake and yelling at me to wake up. I even remember the day you were born and mom kept screaming out profanities and squeezed Pops' hand so hard it broke in three places. " Spritle and I smile at the memories and Speed giving a small sad smile. I continued with the reminiscing. "And who could forget all the times you and Chim-Chim hid in the truck of the Mach 5 and nearly got killed every time, all just to same me. You saved my life more times than I can count. You kept the Mach 6 secret, you raised X while I was away, and you've helped protect Speed. You've done so much for me and I just want to thank you for that. You're the best little brother I could ever have." I say, noticing the small cringe they both gave at the mention of X. I also notice the two tears run down Spritle's face.

"You are the best big brother I could ever have." Spritle says with a weak voice.

"Rex would have been a better one to you." I say thinking of my long-lost older brother and knowing that he's still out there somewhere. I gently squeeze Spritle's hand. Then I look to my son.

"Speed." I say to get his attention. He had a far-away look in his eyes. "I want to apologize for never being there for you growing up. It must have been hard growing up without parents but it was to keep you safe. The people who were after me, they had killed your mother," his eyes widened with shock, "that's how I knew you were in danger; they were going to kill you too if they found out that you had been born. Your mother died saving you, she loved you and X very much, and she would have done anything for you. I had to hide you away but I kept watch over you. I used to go to the Klepto Orphanage and ask Susie how you were doing, I was so happy when she told me that you had been accepted into the Racer Academy."

"You knew Susie Klepto?" Speed asked.

"Of course I know her. I was great friends with her grandfather, Light fingers Klepto, Jr." I said. "I….I couldn't send you to just some random orphanage that I knew nothing about. It had to be with someone I trusted, and she did…. a great j-job at keeping you s-secret." I can feel myself getting weaker.

"I love you very much Speed and I love X too." I continue on. "I want you to forgive him-"

"No! I will never forgive him for doing this to you!" Speed screams out.

"Speed, please, I've already forgiven him so please do the same. It's okay to be angry at him; I was angry at my brother Rex for leaving but I forgave him eventually and I felt so much better after I did." I say, trying to convince him that forgiveness would be better.

"Yeah, but Uncle Rex didn't kill your father." Tears started to stream down his face like two small waterfalls.

"No, he didn't." I whisper getting weaker. "Rex may have caused our family a lot of pain but we all forgave him in the end, and you should do the same for X. I don't want to die knowing my sons hate each other." More tears roll down their faces. "Don't be sad that I'm going to die. I've had a long, happy, full life. I had two wonderful parents, two brothers who both saved my life on multiple occasions, a loyal best friend, not to mention all the many friends I have all around the world, an amazing wife, and two great sons."

"And a very successful racing career." Spritle pointed out.

"Yeah, but, I don't really consider racing to be one of my greatest achievements. Sure I was great at racing and I won almost every race I was in and I spent a lot of my life racing but to me, it's my family and friends that are my greatest successes in life. I have a beautiful family and many great friends that I made while racing in all those exotic places around the world. Racing was just a hobby that I enjoyed. I love to race but I never forgot what it was that I really cared about." I gently squeeze their hands for the last time.

"Rex taught me a lot about life," I say in a whisper. "He taught me to stand up for what I believed in, to not only stand up for myself but for others too, he taught me to forgive and to always have your priorities right, to love your family and friends above all else. He taught me to never forget the past but to never dwell in it either, he taught me to remember the past, live in the present, and look forward to the future. And one of the most important things he taught me was that love never ends; that if you surround yourself with people who truly love you then your life will never be forgotten and that when you die it is simply the end of your life on earth but the start of a new life somewhere else." I close my eyes and whisper one last thing. "Don't be sad that I'm gone because, every finish line is just the start of a brand new race."

Then the room is filled with the long continuous sound of the heart rate monitor announcing the death of Speed Racer, Sr.

Speed Jr. and Spritle close their eyes and cry.


End file.
